1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing device and method and a program, particularly to an information processing device and method and a program capable of, when performing notification to a user by using sound, more easily and reliably allowing the user to recognize the notification sound irrespective of the surrounding environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the past, the ringtone of a mobile phone has been configured to ring at the sound volume previously set by a user. In some cases, therefore, setting the ringtone to high sound volume in accordance with a noisy environment, for example, leads to loud ringing of the ringtone in a quiet cafe or the like and resultant nuisance to nearby people. Conversely, setting the ringtone to low sound volume to avoid the nuisance makes it difficult for the user to notice the ringtone in a noisy environment.
To allow the user to easily notice an incoming call without causing nuisance to nearby people, therefore, some mobile phones are prepared with ring patterns of the ringtone called step-up and step-down. Herein, step-up refers to a ring pattern in which the ringtone shifts to higher sound volume over time, and step-down refers to a ring pattern in which the ringtone shifts to lower sound volume over time.
Further, other mobile phones adjust the sound quality of the ringtone by using one of a plurality of previously downloaded parameters (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-36604, for example). This type of mobile phones pick up and analyze the surrounding sound, and select one of the plurality of parameters on the basis of the result of the analysis.